Manifolding machine



vF. R. FO RD MANIFOLDING MACHINE Nov. 12, 1940;

Filed Sept, 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l II H 1 11/ Tank Eva/ 9 o,

Nov. 12, 1940.

v F. R. FORD MANIFOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2FIG-3.3. Z7 0 han (R- DJ 15ml over a moistened pad against which theyare ters Patent No. 2,048,543, and the spindle 9 as- I Patented Nov. 12,1940 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANIFOLDING MACHINE Frank RonaldFord, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, England, assignor to Frank R. FordLimited, Birmingham, England Application September 5, 1939, Serial No.293,518 In Great Britain August 2, 1938 8 Claims. (01. 101-1325) Thisinvention relates to manifolding machines engagement with the leadingedge of a master of the type in which a master sheet bearing in sheet(notshown) bearing in reversed script the reversed script the matter tobe reproduced is sematter to be reproduced. The clamping device cured toa cylinder, the copy sheets being passed may be constructed as describedin my prior Letpressed by a damping member and then taken sociated withthe cylinder 1 may be rotated between the cylinder and a pressure rollerwhich thro Sp gears l from a hand Crank brings them into pressurecontact with the sheet. l3-

In machines of the type aforesaid it is usual to Between the sidemembers 5 is also arran a support the bearings of the pressure roller sothat tank 14 holding a moistening fluid, which is fed they are movabletowards or away from the eylby suitable means to an absorbent pad l5 ina inder axis, and adjustable spring means acting carrier l6. Thiscontainer extends from one end upon these bearings are commonly providedin of the tank I4 towards the cylinder 1, being disorder that thepressure between the roller and posed substantially tangentially inrelation to the 15 the cylinder may be varied as desired. latter andterminating adjacent the surface 3 In one such arrangement, described inmy thereofs t of t e ppa atus ay be co prior Letters Patent No.2,048,543, each bearing structed in accordance with my prior LettersPatis provided with a downwardly extending rod, ent aforesaid. and acompression spring is interposed between Above the moistened pad i5 isarranged an t nt on this rod and an angularly addamping member extendingtransversely of the 20 justable arm by means of which the force exertedmachine and carried by a pair of levers I! which by said spring, andtending to press the roller are pivoted on pins l8 secured to the sidemem, against the cylinder, may be controlled. bers 5. Means are providedin this type of machine The damping member aforesaid may be conforraising the damping roller or bar, at each structed as a bar which isfixed to the ends of '2 revolution of the cylinder to allow theinsertion the levers bu p e e takes form of a of a fresh copy sheet, andhitherto this has been roller l9, as shown.

eifected by mounting the damping roller or bar Normally t e da p memberrests in 0011- upon a pair of levers controlled by light springs tactwith the moistened pad I5, but is raised or which tend to move theroller or bar into contact move wa therefrom 01108 in each reVOllltiOIli30 with the moistened pad, said levers being engaged of the cylinder lby means of earns 20 secured periodically by means of cams rotating withthe to the ends of the latter. cylinder. The cams 20 may act uponrollers 2| carried It has been found, with existing machines, that bymembers 22 which extend downwardly from 5 the matter on the mastersheets tends to become the levers l1, and these members 22 may be ar-&faint after many copies have been taken, and it is ranged for adjustmentas described in my prior the usual practice in such circumstances to in-Letters Patent aforesaid. crease the pressure on the pressure roller.Each time the damping member 19 is raised Hitherto, however, thisincrease of pressure by the cams 20, a y S t ed at 23) has not beenaccompanied by any increase in the may be fed beneath it to the nipbetween the 40 amount of moisture applied to the copy sheets, cylinder 1and a pressure roller 24 mounted above and it is the object of thepresent invention to the latter. provide for such increased moistening.The ends of the spindle 25 of this pressure Referring to the drawingsroller 24 are supported in bearings 26 which are Figures 1 and 2 are aside elevation and plan slidable in channels 21 in the side members 5so. 45 view, respectively, of a manifolding machine arthat they can bemoved towards or away from the ranged in accordance with the presentinvention, cylinder axis.

Figure 1 being sectioned on the line Il of Fig- Each of the bearin s 25s Connected y & ure 2, and Figure 3 is a section on theline 33downwardly ext nding rod 28 to a crank arm of Figure 2. 29 on a rockshaft 30 disposed transversely of the 50 In the constructionillustrated, the apparatus machine. comprises spaced side members 5secured to- The connection between each crank arm 29 gether by tie-rods6 and having mounted between and the adjacent rod 28, as illustrated, isarthem a transversely disposed impression cylinder ranged in accordancewith my prior Letters Pat- .55 l which is provided with a clampingdevice 8 for ent aforesaid, it being sufficient here to say that;

the screw-threaded lower end 3| of the rod 28 passes diametricallythrough a rotatable crank pin 32 carried by the arm 29, and that acompression spring 33 is interposed between this crank pin 32 and a nut34 on the rod.

An operating lever 35 is secured to one end of the shaft 30 externallyof the adjacent side member 5, and beneath this lever 35 a rocking leveris pivoted at 3B. The springs 33 tend to press the lever 35 against theupper arm 37 of this rocking lever, and may be associated in this by atension spring 38 acting on an arm 39 carried by the shaft 30.

The angular position of the lever 35, and hence the pressure exerted onthe cylinder by the roller 25, may be varied by oscillating the rockinglever by means of a handle it on the lower arm Al thereof. This arm 4!may be provided with a spring-controlled detent 52 which co-operateswith recesses 43 in the side member 5 for the purpose of retaining therocking lever in its adjusted position.

Individual adjustment of the pressures at the two ends of the roller 24may be effected by screwing the nuts 3 along the threaded parts 3| ofthe rods 28.

Instead of the damping member 19 being pressed against the moistened padl5 by means of torsion springs acting on the levers H, as described inmy prior Letters Patent aforesaid, there is provided above each suchlever a stem 44 adapted to exert downward pressure thereon.

Each stem M is disposed vertically and the upper part @5 thereof engagesslidably with a sleeve 46 which is screw-threaded externally to engage atapped hole in a plate t? which is movable with the adjacent bearing 26of the pressure roller 24.

Preferably the plate ll is attached to a block 40 t8 which is adjustablysecured to the top of the bearing 25, or alternatively, the plate 47 maybe carried by the associated rod 28.

A milled head 39 on the screwed sleeve 46 facilitates rotation of thelatter for the purpose 45 of varying the pressure on a coiled spring 59which is interposed between the lower end of the sleeve 46 and ashoulder 58 on the stem 44.

The lower part of the stem M, which may be of flat section, is pointedat its extremity for en- 50 gagement in a conical recess 52 in the topof the lever ll, and may be slotted as at 53 to accommodate a tie-rod 54connecting the blocks 48.

It will be seen that the arrangement above described ensures that anyincrease which may be made in the pressure exerted on the bearings 26 bythe springs 33 is automatically transmitted to the levers I'l carryingthe damping member l9, and thus an increase in the amount of moistureapplied to the copy sheets is obtained whenever the pressure on theroller 24 is increased. Furthermore, the provision of the rotatablesleeves 416 and springs 55 allows individual adjustment of the pressuresacting on the two levers l1.

It is found that the noise produced in existing machines by the upwardand downward move ments of the damping member l9, and the latterstendency to bounce after dropping on to the copy sheet 23, is greatlyreduced or eliminated by the use of the arrangement above described.

What I claim then is:

1. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, a stationary moistenedpad for damping said copy sheet before contact with said master sheet, adamping member adapted to press said copy sheet against said pad,pivoted levers carrying said clamping member, means for adjusting saidroller towards the axis of said cylinder to increase its pressure on thelatter, and mechanical means acting upon said levers to effect inresponse to such adjustment an automatic increase in the pressureexerted by said clamping member on said pad and hence in the amount ofmoisture transmitted therefrom to said copy sheet.

2. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a roller 00-operating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and slidably adjustable on said frame towards theaxis of said cylinder to increase the pressure exerted on the latter bysaid roller, a stationary moistened pad for damping said copy sheetbefore contact with said master sheet, a damping member adapted to presssaid copy sheet against said pad, pivoted levers carrying said dampingmember, and means mechanically coupling said bearings to said levers foreffecting an automatic increase in the pressure exerted by said dampingmember on said pad and hence in the amount of moisture transmittedtherefrom to said copy sheet in response to adjustment of said rollertowards the axis of said cylinder.

3. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressiu'e contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and slidably adjustable on said frame towards theaxis of said cylinder to increas the pressure exerted by the latter onsaid roller, a stationary moistened pad for damping said copy sheetbefore contact with said master sheet, a damping member adapted to presssaid copy sheet against said pad, pivoted levers carrying said dampingmember, and stems carried by said bearings and adapted to exert apressure upon said levers which increases as said roller is adjustedtowards the axis of said cylinder, such adjustment thus beingautomatically accompanied by an increase of the pressure exerted by saiddamping member on said pad and hence in the amount of moisturetransmitted therefrom to said copy sheet.

4. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and mounted on said frame for sliding movementtowards and away from said cylinder, a stationary moistened pad fordamping said copy sheet before contact with said.

'master sheet, a damping member adapted to press said copy sheet againstsaid pad, pivoted levers carrying said clamping member and blocksmounted on said bearings, stems carried by said blocks and adapted topress downwards upon the tops of said levers, whereby an increase in thepressure between said roller and said cylinder is automaticallyaccompanied by an increase of the pressure exerted by said dampingmember on said pad and hence in the amount of moisture transmittedtherefrom to said copy sheet.

5. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and mounted on said frame for sliding movementtowards and away from said cylinder, a stationary moistened pad fordamping said copy sheet before contact with said master sheet, a dampingmember adapted to press said copy sheet against said pad, pivoted leverscarrying said damping member, a bracket carried by each of saidbearings, an adjustable screwed sleeve engaging a tapped hole in saidbracket, and a stem slidably mounted in said sleeve and pressed by thelatter towards the adjacent lever,

whereby an increase in the pressure between said roller and saidcylinder is automatically accompanied by an increase in the pressureexerted by said damping member on said pad, and pressure exerted by thetwo ends of said clamping member being variable individually byadjustment of said sleeves.

6. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and mounted on said frame for sliding movementtowards and away from said cylinder, a stationary moistened pad fordamping said copy sheet before contact with said master sheet, a dampingmember adapted to press said copy sheet against said pad, pivoted leverscarrying said clamping member, a bracket carried by each of saidbearings, an adjustable screwed sleeve engaging a tapped hole in saidbracket, a shouldered stem slidably mounted in said sleeve, and a springacting between the shoulder on said sleeve and the end of said stem andpressing the latter towards the adjacent lever, whereby an increase inthe pressure between said roller and said cylinder is automaticallyaccompanied by an increase in the pressure exerted by said dampingmember on said pad, the pressure exerted by the two ends of said dampingmember being variable individually by adjustment of said sleeves.

'7. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a' master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and mounted on said frame for sliding movementtowards and away from said cylinder, a stationary moistened pad fordamping said copy sheet before contact with said master sheet, aclamping member adapted to press said copy sheet against said pad,pivoted levers carrying said damping member, and stems carried by saidbearings and adapted to exert a downward pressure upon said levers, saidstems being pointed at their ends for engagement with conical recessesin said levers, whereby an increase in the pressure between said rollerand said. cylinder is automatically accompanied by an increase of thepressure exerted by said damping member on said pad and hence in theamount of moisture transmitted therefrom to said copy sheet.

8. A manifolding machine comprising a stationary frame, a rotatablecylinder having means for attaching a master sheet thereto, a rollercooperating with said cylinder and adapted to bring a copy sheet intopressure contact with the master sheet thereon, bearings supporting theends of said roller and mounted on said frame for sliding movementtowards and away from said cylinder, a stationary moistened pad fordamping said copy sheet before contact with said master sheet, a dampingmember adapted to press said copy sheet against said pad, pivoted leverscarrying said damping member, blocks mounted on said bearings, a tie-rodconnecting said blocks, and stems slidably supported upon said blocksand slotted to clear said tie-rod, said stems being adapted to pressdownwards upon the tops of said levers, whereby an increase in thepressure between said roller and said cylinder is automaticallyaccompanied by an increase of the pressure exerted by said dampingmember on said pad and hence in the amount of moisture transmittedtherefrom to said copy sheet.

FRANK RONALD FORD.

